Strategies, tips, how to's and best practices for online video publishers

This is a special “Behind the Red Carpet” interview from Streaming Media West 2009 with Zadi Diaz, new media producer, host and co-creator of the award web series EPIC FU. Zadi and her husband and long-time creative partner Steve WoolfSteve Woolfe are respected pioneers in the web television space. Zadi spoke at Streaming Media West 2009 panel session, Web Television Comes of Age and was interviewed on the Red Carpet by Peter Cervieri.

Zadi had a few minutes to share some advise to producers who are trying to break into the web television space.

“First, think about the story you want to tell. Really know the audience online. Who’s the audience online? Who are you going to be talking to? What’s the community like? Look at all those things and how you’re story fits into that, look at all the niche audiences.”

Zadi said that partnerships are important, and that you should align yourself with passionate people behind the scenes. If you’re good at storytelling but not editing, it will show and will bring your quality down. So focus on what you’re good at and build your support system to get help with the things you’re not good at, like videography, editing or marketing.

This is similar advice Zadi shared in this related post: Epic Fu on How To Make a Kick-Ass Web Show, where she runs down all the tools you need to make an awesome web show, from ideas to equipment to distribution.

Zadi also talked about how storytelling is evolving, and how immersive it’s going to be through online video and alternate reality gaming (ARG) experiences. She noted XBOX 360 Project Natal, which does away with the game controller for a hands-free gaming experience through motion detection and speech recognition, as an emerging next-generation social and entertainment network.